In case you didn’t notice yet, here a AA we love our fudge. First of all, fudge is so simple to make and only requires a few ingredients. Secondly, you can basically customize it to any flavor you want, like our oatmeal raisin cookie fudge. Thirdly and most importantly, it’s delish!

Got Pancake mix? Make these healthy Chunky Monkey Pancake Mix Donuts! They’re made with few ingredients, and full of banana, chocolate and peanut butter flavor! Also vegan + gluten-free options.

I don’t know the last time I made donuts for the blog, but ’twas a long time ago. In fact, I forgot I even had a donut pan. That phrase, “outta sight, outta mind” holds true even for things you value. Ha, but I’m glad I dusted the poor guy off and brought him back to life.

Today I’m sharing with you this easy but epic donut recipe that y’all will adore. I’ve been OBSESSED with pancake mix lately, and have been making everything besides pancakes with it.

I prefer making homemade blender pancakes instead of using the good ol’ mix, but I still put some good use into it.

Case in point: these donuts.

They’re super fluffay, puffy and taste like banana pancakes with pb and chocolate chips. They’re perfect for breakfast, snack anddddd dessert alike. Basically the best of both worlds 😉 Here is what ya need to make ’em:

“This Post is Sponsored by Naked Nutrition. As always, all opinions are my own.”

Hey guys! For this post, I’m taking off my recipe creator hat and putting on my nutrition student hat. Hope you enjoy this post! We were sent a pure pre-workout formula called Naked Energy from Naked Nutrition and I going to tell you about the scientific benefits of taking a pre-worokut supplement. First things first, let me tell you about the product.

Naked Energy is comprised of 10 high-quality ingredients with no added sweeteners, colors or flavors (hence why it’s called Naked!). It was designed to enhance athletic performance and is guaranteed to impact your workout. But how? How do all of these ingredients work in your body?

I actually just finished a class called Micronutrient Metabolism( where I learned the metabolic pathways and functions of about 18 vitamins/minerals), so I kinda actually know what I’m talking about here lol. Let’s start be explaining a brief overview of each ingredient:

Vitamin C

Besides Vitamin C’s function in protecting the immune system, it also has an important function in the synthesis of collagen. If you don’t know what collagen is, it is the major structural protein found in skeletal muscle, giving our muscles strength and you guessed it, structure. Additionally, researchers support the idea that vitamin C supplementation pre-workout can reduce muscle soreness and reduce creatine kinase blood concentrations (high levels associated with muscle damage).1

B Vitamins (B3, B6, B12)

According to research, B vitamins are important for converting protein and sugars into energy in the body and producing and repairing cells.2 There is even evidence that athletes with a deficiency in B vitamins are more likely to damage muscle tissue.2

Calcium

Of course we all know that Calcium (Ca) is good for our bones, but what about muscle? Ca also helps with muscle contraction, which is obviously extremely important in exercise. If your body has low Ca concentrations in the blood, Ca is taken from the bone, resulting in weaker bones and muscular fatigue (not something you want if you’re trying to workout).

Caffeine

Caffeine definitely helps to wake up your nervous system, but researchers also support the idea that pre-workout supplements containing caffeine can delay muscle fatigue, improve muscular endurance and reaction time.3

Amino Acids

the building blocks of protein, amino acids are important for the muscle growth and repair. Taking amino acids before a workout are shown to enhance muscular and cardiovascular endurance.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Naked Energy if you are looking for an all-natural pre-workout supplement. Based on research, all ingredients in Naked Energy seem to optimize exercise performance and recovery.

Brown A. B-vitamins play an important role in athletic performance | Extension and Agricultural Research News. Extensionoregonstateedu. 2006. Available at: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/release/2006/11/b-vitamins-play-important-role-athletic-performance. Accessed January 5, 2018.

Chocolate Avocado flourless muffins are a healthy and delicious breakfast or snack made with 7 ingredients! Paleo, vegan and gluten-free!

So this recipe that we’re about to share with you today is kind of a mix between 2 other popular recipes, Flourless Avocado Brownies and Flourless Sweet Potato Muffins. Basically these muffins are based off of the sweet potato version with the same chocolatey flavor and fudgey texture as the brownies, confusing I know! But all you have to know is that they’re delicious!

It’s also no surprise that we love flourless baked goods. Flourless baked goods just have the best texture and if you’ve tried any flourless baked good before, you probably understand. They are also pretty easy to make and usually require less preparation that conventional baked goods. Now lets get to the recipe.

These Flourless Chocolate Avocado Muffins are made with…

Almond butter

Avocado

Banana

Protein powder (optional)

Cocoa powder

Maple Syrup

Chocolate chips

These Chocolate Avocado Flourless Muffins are an easy and delicious snack, breakfast or dessert! Made with only 7 ingredients and are kid-friendly. Also paleo, vegan and gluten-free!

Don’t you hate those days where getting out of bed seems impossible? The night before you tell yourself you are going to get up early and workout, but when the alarm goes off, that doesn’t happen. First world problems right here.

This happens all too often to me. My perception on time is unrealistic and I often think I have more time than I actually do. Oh yeah, I’ll have enough time in the morning to make my breakfast, pack my lunch, feed my labradoodle, make coffee, take a shower and brush my teeth with 10 minutes to spare. That’s expectation. But when reality hits, it hits hard.

Rarely do I ever have time to do all these things in the morning. Either I forget to pack my lunch, or my dog goes hungry(so sorry Loralei). That is why meal prep is so great. Having breakfast already made the night before lets me sleep in approximately ten minutes more ( if you’re a college student, you know that sleeping in even only a few minutes more does wonders!).

Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies

Satisfy your early morning appetite and cravings at the same time with these naturally sweet breakfast cookies! Thanks to shredded carrots, shredded apples, and applesauce, they cookies are soft and moist with just enough sweetness! Loaded with flaked coconut, plump raisins and crunchy walnuts, breakfast has never been more glorious!

What an amazing year its been! We are so thankful that Athletic Avocado has grown amazingly in 2017, thanks to you and God! We’ll admit, its been a crazy year with us both graduating college and both starting grad school, we’ve posted a lot less than we would like. Truth be told, we were both scared about how we were going to be able to blog before we started grad school, but by the grace of God we have been able to though it has not been easy! We cannot wait to show you all the awesome content we have planned for 2018, stayed tuned 🙂 But for now, take a look at our 5 most popular recipes and posts of 2017!

““Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

If you couldn’t already tell, our favorite recipes to make are cakes and breads, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with that, you guys seem to love cakes and breads too! There is just something so satisfying about have a big slice of cake/bread for breakfast with coffee, it just starts the day off so right, don’t you agree? Well anyways, if you couldn’t already tell, today’s recipe is a cakey bread, let’s get to it!

So I’ve seen so many people use apple cider vinegar (ACV) in baking and at first I’ll admit, I thought it was kinda weird. More and more people started to use it in baked goods and raved about it so I decided to hop aboard and give it a try and now I am a huge fan! There is just something so awesome about using ACV in baked goods in combination with baking soda, it makes the texture more fluffy, and who doesn’t like fluffy cakes/breads!?

Instead of traditional ACV, I used Fire Cider’s Apple Cider Vinegar & Honey Tonic to give this bread even more umphhh and add a nutritional boost! This bread is super duper easy to make and oh so delicious with the amazing combo of cranberry and orange.

The ingredients include:

Almond flour

Baking soda

Almond butter

Applesauce

Fire Cider Tonic

Egg/flax egg

Orange juice

Orange zest

Cranberries

You will love this delicious gluten-free orange cranberry bread complete with a cream cheese glaze! Such a perfect and nutritious breakfast, snack or dessert for you and your family!

Vegan Chocolate Gingerbread Cheesecake is completely raw, made with just a few ingredients and is one delicious holiday dessert! Also paleo and gluten-free!

This post is sponsored by Simply Organic, as always, opinions stated are my own. #cookforachange

Now that Christmas and New Years is around the corner, I’m craving ALL the cookies, cakes, pies, etc . I love celebrating the birth of Jesus and the start of the new year with lots of tasty goodies and treats. There is nothing that says “I love you” more than intricately homemade desserts

One of Rachel and I’s new favorite things to do during Christmas and New Years is to host a dessert party with friends and family. It’s like a regular party, but only better because DESSERT! Having a dessert party is awesome because you get to try so many desserts that you’ve never tried before and you get to feed your sweet tooth all in one 🙂

So for this year’s dessert party, we created one delicious cheesecake, Raw Vegan Chocolate Gingerbread Cheesecake to be exact! Everyone (including Rachel and I!) are pretty obsessed with gingerbread everything this time of year. We have finally mastered the gingerbread flavor! The key to getting a true gingerbread flavor comes from two essential things- molasses and spices. Now, the molasses is self-explanatory, but the spice combination must be on-point to achieve the gingerbread taste. The best way to ensure that your spice combo will have the true gingerbread flavor? High-quality spices like Simply Organic. I could tell the immediate difference right away when using Simply Organic spices in place of generic brand spices! No surprise there considering Simply Organic spices are, you guessed it, organic, ethically and sustainably produced. Simply Organic is also running an awesome challenge called Cook For A Change that will donate one meal to the Ceres Community Project Healing Meals Program for every use of #cookforachange on social media! Cook For A Change is something we love standing behind because our love for cooking has changed our lives! What a blessing it is to give back through our favorite hobby 🙂

Now for the ingredients that make up this delicious Gingerbread Cheesecake!

Coconut Flour

Cocoa powder

Coconut oil

Maple syrup

Vanilla extract

Cashews

Molasses

Homemade spice blend

Chocolate chips

You and your family will go crazy over this delicious Chocolate Gingerbread Cheesecake, whether you have a dessert party or give it as a gift, it will certainly be enjoyed! You would never guess that it’s completely made from raw ingredients, vegan and paleo friendly! Enjoy!

“This post is sponsored by Fire Cider. As always, all opinions are my own.”

What’s your take on squash? Love it, or leave it? Personally, Rachel and I are huge squash fans and you can even tell by the slightly orange tint of our hands due to beta-carotene overload. But if you think that stops us from enjoying squash, you got another thing comin’.

Although most squash is sweet, it pairs well with savory flavors, especially sweet n’ spicy, like in these b-nut fries 😉

I was originally going to use sweet potatoes, but I was like heck, lets give squash the spotlight it deserves. These fries are coated in a thick sweet chili garlic sauce that goes perfectly with the sweetness of the squash.

I created the sauce using garlic, maple syrup, coconut aminos, red pepper flakes, water and last but not least, Fire Cider’s apple cider vinegar & spice tonic. If you’ve have never heard of Fire Cider, it’s about time you do! I think we all know now about the powerful health benefits of adding apple cider vinegar to your daily diet, but Fire Cider adds even more flavor and pizazz! You can drink it straight, or use it in cooking/baking like we do!

Okay I have a confession to make, I really don’t like bananas! Well, I don’t like to eat them by themselves but I LOVE to eat them in baked goods and smoothies. So basically they are my least favorite fruit by themselves but they are my favorite fruit to make recipes with.

You guys probably already knew that we love banana baked goods just from looking at our recipes such as this banana bread, breakfast pizza, muffin tops, etc.They add the perfect natural sweetness and delicious gooey texture to baked goods that we all swoon over. That’s why I added them in this delicious, easy, and nutritious protein snack cake.

You guys probably also know that we love Rootz Nutrition Protein Superfood Powder since we’ve already created two awesome recipes with it! It’s the perfect flavorful addition to this snack cake. Not only is it delicious in smoothies and great for baking, it is also is made with only natural ingredients, packed with nutrients and contains egg white protein, hemp protein, and sacha inchi protein, combined with a blend of all natural superfoods.

I’m super stoked to share this recipe with y’all today and believe that you guys will love this 5 ingredient banana chocolate chip protein snack cake! Simply made with: